Having been to 10 Downing Street twice in the last 10 days to deliver petitions with clients, I thought I would share my experiences in case you were considering this.

While it is great that the government is encouraging e-petitions, and it’s easy to get a viral buzz going to direct supporters to your online petition website, I don’t think you can beat delivering a petition straight to David Cameron’s front door. It gives one a feeling of “mission accomplished”, that the job has been done and delivered.

It’s also the most wonderful photo opportunity to stand in front of the most famous door in the UK. It gives everyone a thrill to stand there, but you have to dash away pretty quickly if the front door opens.

When I first went there with Julian Sturdy MP, then a prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate, to present a petition objecting to post office closures, we bumped into BBC’s Nick Robinson, who kindly agreed to pose with us for this pic which you see here. One of our group had joked in front of his local journalist also present about being let in to Downing Street by police security with his Matalan store card as ID and, surprise, surprise, the Guardian and the Richard and Judy Show got to hear about it and were keen for the story.

I returned last week with Adoption with Humanity and we were fortunate to have ITV filming the petition delivery . While there I spoke to their producer about the Antibiotic Action petition delivery yesterday which included their very own Dr Hilary Jones and he said he liked the story. ITV reported on it (though not the petition delivery), so a thousand thanks to Gary, their terrific producer.

There were only two petition deliveries all day when the adoption campaigners went last week, and we were the first yesterday at 2.30pm, so we probably livened up the duty officers’ day. We must have stayed for almost half an hour taking photos and talking to the police officer on the door who sought advice from our medics for his daughter who wants to study medicine and has a forthcoming university interview. Dr H and Prof Laura Piddock were only too happy to pass on their words of wisdom.

I would like to thank the Met Police at Charing Cross Police Station who help organise these visits with the public. They are extremely helpful, particularly those on duty in Downing Street who use their discretion to allow an extra one or two people through in addition to the agreed party. All names and personal details must be submitted to police in advance so they can be vetted. A couple of extra people were allowed in yesterday, but perhaps they felt they could hardly refuse when I told them we were there to save their lives if they ever caught an infection!

“They can tell by looking at you, they know what you are like,” said one of my colleagues who slipped in as an extra.

It’s not very easy to find the contact details for booking in a petition delivery with the Met, so the phone number in case you  need it is 0207 321 8165. Their office will email you the forms to complete for vetting. You should take photo ID too, but they don’t seem to mind if you forget it, which I did last week and showed my Visa card instead; that’s why my colleague with Julian Sturdy showed his Matalan card. The police are very understanding about this, but also well armed if they should have made a mistake. And we do pass through x-ray security too before reaching No 10.

Downing Street looks so very pretty during the festive season, you can see their lovely tree here during another visit I made regarding pesticides.

However, once the petition has been delivered, what I must confess I don’t know is whether you get a reply from the Prime Minister. Can anyone tell me?

*It’s interesting to read some of the present e-petitions on the government website, such as these:

Convicted London rioters should lose all benefits (251,283 signatures)

Full disclosure of all government documents relating to 1989 Hillsborough disaster (141,249)

Retain ban on capital punishment (30,959)

Restore capital punishment ( 23,780)

All petitions are unfair and must be ignored (0 – just created by Samuel Petty)